Gifts From the Heart
by Degan
Summary: It's Christmas time at the Hellsing manor and gift giving is the theme at hand. A gift to Alucard's Familiar. Three chapters, R
1. Prt 1

A/N: A gift for Alucard's Familiar, and inspired in part by reading _And Shine Heaven Now, _a doujinshi found at hellsing . keenspace . com

Standard Disclaimer.

* * *

"Master, may I have a moment?" 

Integral Hellsing turned, seeing the red-clad form of the resident vampire stepping through the wall, a serious look on his face.

That was her first sign of trouble. Alucard never had a serious look on his face when it came to serious business. He usually had that damnable smirk on his face.

"What is it, Alucard?" she asked, eager to be out of his presence. It was Christmas time, and while for most people it meant a time of togetherness, for her it meant an increased workload since chipped vampires usually took it upon themselves to turn the family gatherings into all-you-can-drink buffets, despite her releasing Alucard's leash to dispose of them.

The Nosferatu leaned against the edge of her desk, tilting his hat back. "I was just wondering what you wanted for Christmas, Master."

That threw her back a pace. "Since when have you been the gift giving type, monster?"

The familiar smirk appeared. "I understand that it is a custom to give gifts to those close to you on the twenty-fifth of December. Since you hold the 'leash' that binds me, as you thought so eloquently a moment ago, there is not a person closer to me than you."

She shook her head. "There is no reason for you to get me a gift, Alucard. I neither require one nor desire one. It's just another day of the year."

"Ebenezer Scrooge thought the same as you, Master," the vampire clicked his tongue against his teeth. "Look what happened to him."

"I am neither a miser nor a business owner, Alucard. I have a job to do. However," she said as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "I suppose if you must insist on this foolishness, I will think on what I will accept from you."

The No-Life King stood, smoothing his red frockcoat. "That is all I wished," he said as he faded from view. "Though I do have some ideas already."

Integra hung her head and shook it from side to side as images of what she thought he would consider 'appropriate gifts' flashed through her mind.

And again the wish for a normal childhood flashed through her mind.

Followed by the realization that if she was to receive gifts, it would only be proper to return the gesture.

"Hell."

* * *

Seras Victoria looked up from her list, trying to think of the best store to go to acquire the next item. She had already gotten gifts for the other people she interacted with. 

The new book on George S. Patton and the Kenneth Branagh versions of Walter's favourite Shakespeare works were nestled in one bag already gift wrapped for the elderly butler.

For Pip she had gotten a silk dress shirt in a muted blue that matched his eye and the latest release by Do As Infinity, Live in Japan. Who would have thought the vulgar mercenary would have liked a group like that?

For herself, she had gotten a new pair of slacks and a pair of Seville by Clarks of England boots. And a loose fitting gown that she intended to wear to dinner with Pip, but that was more of a joint gift.

For Master she had found a book about Vlad the Impaler, thinking he would get a good laugh over histories view of his human life as well as, after much searching and haggling, a signed copy of Bram Stoker's Dracula.

But now she had to shop for Sir Integra. All she had on her list was her name, not knowing what to get her.

Her cigars were picked up by Walter on a weekly basis.

Her suits were handmade by a shop on Seville Row.

She didn't (to Seras' knowledge) have any hobbies.

So what was there to get her?

She was still thinking about this when she walked by a sandwich board sign sitting on the sidewalk. After seeing what it proffered, she grinned, careful not to show her fangs.

* * *

Pip lounged in his chair, feet up on his desk as he scanned over the particulars of the webpage he was looking at. 

"Vicky'd love zat," he said as he scrolled down to the order link with a grin.

On the screen was the advance ticket order form for a band that she was a huge fan of, Sonata Arctica. Their next tour was about to start and they had two dates in England. He purchased two for the center row about midway back. It cost him more than he had planned to spend on her gift, but he figured it would be worth it.

"Now what to get ze others," he murmured, flipping his braid behind his back.

* * *

Walter tied the bow on the last of the packages. Finished at last. He cleaned the lens of his monocle before picking up the gifts and carrying them to his closet to wait until Christmas day. 

As usual, Sir Integra had been the most difficult to shop for, despite his knowledge of her. He had, in the end, merely purchased a book by Ann Rice, knowing that Sir Integra would enjoy the writing as well as getting a good laugh over some of the supposed traits of vampires.

Miss Seras was almost insanely easy to shop for. A brightly coloured sweater and a warm greatcoat to replace the battered blazer she usually wore sat in their respective boxes, waiting for her enthusiastic opening. She was like a little girl on Christmas.

For Lord Alucard he had acquired several pints of Type O blood and had completed a complete overhaul plan for the Joshua and the Jackal, which would make them both more powerful than before.

Captain Bernadette had posed a bit of a problem, but in the end he found a pair of books by an American author named R.A. Salvatore focusing on a Dark Elf. Knowing Pip's interest in the fantasy/adventure genre, he thought that they might fit.

Now all he had to do was make sure that the dinner was prepared and his work for the year's end celebration would be over.

As he walked to the kitchen to discuss some details with the cook, he couldn't help but feel a slight warm sensation as he thought of his surrogate family.

* * *

_Author_: I just want to say that this story, unlike my other Hellsing fics, will be outside the standard continuum of my writing. Meaning, in other words, that things that happen in this story will not affect the storyline or history of the other stories. This is simply a gift that will be able to stand on its own two feet. 

Sides, I want to build suspense over the gifts that were mentioned but not named. After this three chapter ficlet is done, I'll be finishing the other ficlets I have ready to go, like _Landfall _for Thess and _Me, Myself, and Yumie _for all you MPD nun lovers out there.


	2. Prt 2

A/N: I said in the last one that this story isn't in the standard continuum of my stories...slight clarification. The events of this story have no bearing on the future (AKA TBFG, etc.) but have the same history, so you could say it's an AU of my AU...

* * *

Integra sat in the car pondering her first move. She hadn't been shopping in years, and she had no clue where to start. 

What does one get for an insufferable vampire servant, a faithful steward that had been like a father to her, a troublesome mercenary, and a timid vampress?

She rested her forehead against the steering wheel.

"Hell," she said again. "Bloody hell."

* * *

Alucard drifted through the manor, grinning as he sensed his master's discomfort. 

"My, my, I never thought she'd go through this much trouble over such a simple holiday."

After all, he'd had her gift for years now.

* * *

Seras sat at her table, wrapping the gifts she had gotten. Integra's had been difficult, but she thought it would be something that she would truly appreciate. She had made two trips to the vendor, but it had been worth it. 

Pip lounged against the wall, having helped with the last bit of wrapping. "So, Vicky, when are we going to give her ze gift?"

She sighed. "I told you, Pip. On Christmas Day."

He twirled the unlit cigarette between his fingers. "Are you sure you can hide eet till then? Eet is rather big."

She sighed again. She knew he was more interested in seeing what he had gotten, or in giving her his gift and seeing how she'd react to it. He was like a child that couldn't wait for morning.

"Tell you what, Pip," she said. "How about you and I get ready for that dinner now?"

He grinned.

* * *

Integra walked down the path in the shopping center, at a complete loss for ideas when she heard a pair of voices talking. 

"No, she wouldn't respond like that, Mick. She'd be more assertive, more decisive."

"You want to do this, Lynn?"

"No."

She looked. A man with longish shaggy brown hair and a woman with glasses perched on the end of her nose were clustered about a laptop and a sketchpad respectively. On the paper was a surprisingly lifelike drawing of a woman with a long braid and a man with pensive eyes half hidden by his hair, along with a small sketch of her on the opposing page.

"That, is amazing," she said, amazed at the amount of detail the woman had drawn.She couldn't have been inthe girl's sight for more than a few moments.The two people looked up in surprise.

"Sorry," the woman said. "I try to sketch people out on the street now and again. It's good practice for forms."

Integra kept looking at the sketch, but was also looking at the two that had been bickering about it. They looked familiar, somehow.

"Excuse me, but do I know you?"

The two looked at each other. "Now that you mention it, you do look familiar," said the woman, flipping her dark hair behind her shoulders. "But this is the first time we've ever been to London."

"You look like you have a lot on your mind, miss," said the man. "Care to talk about it?"

Integra pondered for a moment, still mesmerized by the drawing. She sat down, and after a few moments began to explain her problem to the two people. She didn't know why, but she didn't feel out of place with telling them her problems, with letting her guard down.

The man sat with his head posted against his fist rather like the sculpture while the woman had been doodling on the paper again, glancing up from time to time.

"It seems to me you've forgotten the most important part of all this, Integra," he said.

"What's that, Mick?"

"Christmas gifts are a way of saying the things that we don't have words for sometimes. For example, when I came up for a loss of what to get the coloured pencil fiend here, I just wrote a short poem for her. Sometimes the giver is just as important as the gift."

He lowered his hand, looking at her in a way that reminded her of her father. "And sometimes, the best gifts can't be found in a store."

She nodded as insight struck her.

"Thank you, both of you." She stood and headed back for the parking lot, ideas spinning in her head.

Lynn looked up from her sketch pad. "You think she got the picture?"

Mick shrugged. "I hope so. I'd hate to have written this scene just for the gratuitous self-insertations."

* * *

Time passed, and soon they were all gathered about the tree. Seras tore open her gifts as though she were attacking ghouls, shredding the paper and opening the boxes like the five year old she felt like. There was something about Christmas that just made her feel young all over again. 

She threw her arms around Pip's neck as she saw the pair of tickets in the small box. She had tried to get tickets herself the other day but they had been sold out.

Pip had surprised everyone with his thoughtfulness. For Walter he had managed to track down several sets of sidewinder missiles that were mountable to most helicopter models, thereby cutting down on the steward's workload as weapon's master. He had also to find a perfectly round crystal globe, the continents of the earth etched into it's surface, the tiny island of England being etched more so than the others, and had the emblem and prayer of Hellsing imposed on the interior. Integra had accepted the gift with an unusual warm smile. In fact, she had seemed unusually cheerful, smiling not in the confident way she did when releasing Alucard or Seras on FREAKS or when unleashing a clip of blessed silver rounds into a target. It was more motherly, more human.

Alucard had been out of character as well, having placed a few packages under the tree as well. He had a portrait of him and Walter during WWII made from one of the few surviving photos he had. Pip had received something a bit nostalgic from his point of view…the .50 pistol he had used until Walter had constructed the Joshua. It was heavier than the mercenary captain was used to but had more vampyric stopping power than the battered revolver the man carried. Seras had received a very large book, handwritten, the edges of which were smoke-blackened.

"It's the journal I had when I was a fledgling, Police Girl. It's one of the few books that Van Helsing didn't take with him and that survived the sack of my castle in theWar.Looking back over it, I thought you might have some use of it, since you still haven't grown into your powers fully," he had said.

He turned to Integra, holding out a package wrapped in simple brown butcher's paper. It looked old.

"And now for yours, Master," he said.

* * *

A/N: For kicks and giggles, I'm going to draw some of these gifts. Anyone want to see them when they're done? 


	3. Prt 3

Integra took the package. It gave slightly under its own weight, bending with a crinkle of paper. She opened the wrapping and stared at the leather-bound book nestled within. It was cracked, very much used. Opening to the first page, she saw her grandfather's handwriting on the first page.

She started hesitantly. "This is…"

"The journal kept by both your grandfather and your father." The vampire sat downin his loose boned way in a padded chair.

Alucard continued. "This contains many things that most do not know about Hellsing and the work they have done. It was entrusted to me when I was asked to step into my confinement. Your uncle was becoming ambitious and I was not needed, so I was kept secret and the documents contained within that," he said, gesturing towards the volume. "It was thought better for some things to remain hidden. I, however, thought that with the problems rising with the FREAKS that you might want the knowledge."

Integra ran her fingers across the pages, scanning the things written in her grandfather's spidery handwriting or her father's bold strokes. There were notes about the various things that they had done to Alucard, missions that had gone sour, and the rising tensions with the Vatican group, despite their close ties at the start of the century.

"I don't know what to say, Alucard," she whispered. She looked at everyone gathered around and stood.

"I couldn't think of anything to get you, any of you. You've done so much for me that I cannot encapsulate it into a mere gift."

Seras looked at her, the slight glimmer of tears in her eyes. Pip cocked an eyebrow at her while Walter looked on in something akin to bemusement.

Alucard merely grinned.

"Seras, Pip," she continued, handing them both small packages. "You are my most loyal officers. I cannot express my gratitude, but I can allow you both this. Within you will find both your new rank insignia and a pair of vouchers for tickets with British Airways. I have authorized a two week leave for you both and you may take it anywhere you wish."

She turned to Walter. "Walter. You have been my father, my aide, my confidant and my bodyguard. I would not be the person I am without you. I cannot find the words to describe what you have been to me nor can I find a proper gift. For you, I sadly must confess that I have no material gifts for you. You may request a leave or any other thing that you might wish."

She turned to face them all. "You all have become more than just my subordinates, my employees. You are my family. You have become a part of my life and for you all I would fight tooth and nail. Never doubt that."

"What about me, Master?"

She turned to the vampire. "Yes, I suppose even you, Alucard, though I know such sentiments are beneath you." She pulled out a small package and lofted it to the vampire. "That is for you."

The vampire opened it, seeing a blood pack in the paper. "I am so touched," he said dryly and drank from it. His eyes flew open.

"This," he said.

Integra smiled.

"Yes," she said.

"It's my blood."

Outside, crouched behind the door and peering through the keyholes, Mick and Lynn stood up and walked away, grins on their faces.

"Told you that they'd enjoy Christmas this year," Mick said.

"Still think my ideas were better," the brunette said.

"Yeah, they were and they were funny, but this way we don't get faced with the choice of kissing each other or Alucard after he sucked on an onion," pointed out the man.

"You saying it's a hard choice?" She asked as she shoved him lightly as they walked, and he grinned before slipping his arm about her waist.

"Hardly, but I don't think we should give the readers a show."

They walked past a large painting on the wall, and stopped to look at it. It held all the members of Hellsing in an almost familiar setting, Integra sitting in a chair with Alucard standing behind her, Walter on one side and Pip on the other with Seras perched on a lower stool in front of Pip. There was a note on the bottom.

"Sir Integra, this painting represents the way I feel towards us: You, Walter, Pip, and Master Alucard. I could think of nothing outside this to get you for Christmas and as a way of thanking you for taking us in as more than employees.- Seras Victoria."

* * *

A/N: Well, I know it was a bit sentimental, but it was showing things that could have happened. Also, Erin, you came up with the idea of Integra giving him blood and I just wanted to give you the credit. Also, I'm working on Pip's paperweight and the portait, so keep an eye on the DeviantArt pages, codenamed michaeldykes


End file.
